Sulfites in Wine - What's Causing my Headache?

In my recent post on lessons I've learned from blogging I recommend that bloggers write about the questions they find themselves asked all the time.  Following my own advice, I realized I've recently answered several questions about sulfites in our wines.  There are two phrasings to this question, both getting at the same issue.  One phrasing runs along the line of "oh, you farm organically.  Does this mean that your wines are sulfite-free?"  The other phrasing is "I get headaches from the sulfites in wine.  Does the fact that you're organic mean I can drink your wines?" 

Just the other day, I got pulled in by a discussion on organic wines and sulfites on the excellent blog 1 Wine Dude.  As I was writing the response, I realized that this is exactly the sort of issue I'm recommending that others address.  The confusion surrounding the issue would be farcical if it didn't negatively impact the acceptance of organic wines in the marketplace.  The punch line of the joke (which no one I know really finds funny) is that sulfite sensitivities don't typically cause the headaches that most people who believe they suffer from sulfite allergies describe as their principal symptom.  Those who report headaches are far more likely to be reacting to the histamines (or, more rarely, the tannins) in wine.  Or the alcohol.

As for us, yes, we use sulfites.  If we didn't, our wines would be unstable to a degree we're not comfortable with, and we're making wines for aging over the long term.  We do what we can to minimize the concentration to under 100 parts per million (the average American wine is about 350 ppm).  Still, I am not aware of any top winery anywhere in the world who omits sulfites entirely from the winemaking process.  And, sulfites have been used since Roman times in wine.  The fact that (unlike in other countries) United States regulations prohibit us from calling our wines organic is an unfortunate consequence of the widespread fear in America that many, many people are allergic to sulfites.  Fortunately, sulfite allergies are quite rare, and wine contains minor quantities of sulfites compared to other common foods.   

Important fact #1: If you (other than wine) eat quite normally, and wine (particularly young, red wine) gives you headaches, you almost certainly are not allergic to sulfites. 

Sulfur occurs in many foods, including (according to WebMD):

• Baked goods
• Soup mixes
• Jams
• Canned vegetables
• Pickled foods
• Gravies
• Dried fruit
• Potato chips
• Trail mix
• Beer and wine
• Vegetable juices
• Sparkling grape juice
• Apple cider
• Bottled lemon juice and lime juice
• Bottled Tea
• Many condiments
• Molasses
• Fresh or frozen shrimp
• Guacamole
• Maraschino cherries
• Dehydrated, pre-cut or peeled potatoes

Particularly common sources of sulfites are dried fruit, potato chips and french fries, and condiments.  Three ounces of dried apricots, for example, contain 175mg of sulfur dioxide.  By contrast, a four ounce glass of Tablas Creek (at 100ppm of sulfites) contains about 12mg.  Even a glass of wine with average sulfite levels would contain about 40mg of sulfur dioxide.  You'd need to drink half a bottle to get the same sulfites as that handful of apricots. 

The FDA estimates that about 500,000 people in the United States have sulfite allergies (about two-tenths of one percent of the population).  Those who do need to be very careful about what they eat and drink, as exposure to sulfites can cause respiratory reactions.  Six people have died in the last 30 years in the United States due to sulfite reactions (none traceable to wine).  The reactions to a sulfite allergy are typically wheezing, coughing, hives, abdominal pain, and difficulty swallowing, the same reactions you'd expect from, say, a medical allergy (and, in fact, those with allergies to Sulfa drugs are much more likely to have other sulfite allergies).

Headaches, on the other hand, are not mentioned in the literature on sulfites, but are common reactions to an excess of histamines.  Many more people have sensitivities to histamines, which are common in pollen as well as many other plant materials.  Reactions to histamines include headache, itchy eyes, runny nose and flushed skin... the common effects of hay fever.   It's less well known that histamines are also common in the skins of grapes.  This explains why many people are sensitive to only red wines (which spend time in fermentation next to grape skins) or only to young wines (histamines break down over time in bottle).

Important fact #2: as with seasonal allergies, sensitivities to the histamines in wine can be treated with an over-the-counter antihistamine such as Benadryl or Claritin.

So why does the government mandate that wines display "CONTAINS SULFITES" on the back of nearly every label, but make no mention of histamines, when histamine reactions are much more common than sulfite allergies?  Essentially, histamine reactions are not particularly dangerous.  Inconvenient, sure, but not life-threatening.  However, from the number of questions I get, it's clear that the government-mandated warning has convinced lots of people that they're allergic to something they're not, and obscured the easy steps people could take to minimize their reactions. 

I've already written about how the fact that American wines with sulfites are prohibited from being labeled organic discourages vineyards from farming organically, so I won't go into that again here.  It's just another example of the unintended consequences of even well-intentioned government.

Comments

[Joe]

Thanks for the shout out!

It's important for people to understand what impact these outdated and ill-conceived regulations have on the winemaking industry, so thanks also for shedding some light on that here.

Whenever I'm asked about wine sulfites causing someone a headache, I usually tell the person that there are 5 things that are likely to be causing the headache (in *decreasing* order of likelihood):

1) You drank too much (i.e., you've got a hangover, and are partially dehydrated because you didn't drink enough water the night before - tsk-tsk-tsk!) - most likely

2) You drank your wine at a party or social gathering, where it was loud (and thoe more you drank, the louder *you* probably were as well) - next likeliest

3) Something you ate while you were drinking the wine caused you to have headache

4) About 100 other possible food or illness causes, including alien abduction scenarios

5) Sulfites (in which case you would also be having a headache and possible severe reactions to most packaged foods, especially dried *anything*, etc., etc., etc.).

We've just blown this way, way, way out of proportion in the U.S.!

Cheers,
-Joe

[Amy]

Thanks for going into this so methodically. Its amazing the amount of misunderstanding here. I went to my allergist for stuff some of the nurses there thought that white wines had less sulfites than reds so they drank those.... I tried to tell them that its the opposite typically.
Great article

[TasterB]

Wow. I think the FDA has a debilitating case of bureaucratitis: Having spent some time with winemakers I understand that sulfating wine is a necessary 'evil' if you don't want to risk losing the whole lot. It does not mean that the main ingredient--the grapes were not grown organically. Meanwhile, many, many foods are labeled organic that have hydrolyzed yeast added (MSG). Another case of apparent FDA double standard probably brought about in part by the lumbering hugeness of the organization.

[Marco Montez]

Excellent post! Whenever I tell people that a dry fig may contain more sulfite than a glass of red wine, they look at me in disbelief. I don't blame them, the dry fig did not come with a "CONTAINS SULFITE" warning. This also reminds me to check the latest on TTBs "Major Food Allergen Labeling" proposal in which a producer or importer of wine must declare the presence of milk, eggs, fish, Crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, and soybeans, on a product label. I wonder if people will start having vomiting attacks when they read a back label stating "THIS WINE FINED WITH THE AIR BLADDER OF A FISH".

[Jason Haas]

Thanks, everyone. It is really an issue that demonstrates the power of suggestion to the consumer. I agree very much with Marco's comment that this is just the beginning, if the TTB's food allergen labeling regulation passes unchanged.

I also agree with Joe that the alcohol (and the dehydration that can sneak up on people when they're not drinking enough water) is a frequent culprit.

In any case, I hope that people do learn that they can just take an antihistamine for their headaches and go back to enjoying wine!

Thanks to everyone for their comments.
-Jason

[Ryan]

Yep sulphites are hard to avoid in wine given that some occur even naturally. The way I avoid them is by drinking mainly organic wines from California

ryan@http://www.naturalallergycures.net

[Michelle]

Jason,

Great blog, I love reading all the great info you put out there.
We did have a question for you regarding why we are more likely to get headaches after drinking cheaper wines? This definitely seems to be the case in my family.

Thanks again for keeping us all informed!

[Jason Haas]

Hi Michelle,

Good question, and one I'm not sure of the answer for. My suspicion would be that most cheap wines are made from mass-produced grapes, which are probably more heavily processed and contain higher residues of pesticide and other chemicals than many more expensive wines. Another possibility is that many cheap wines are made with additives like oak powder or oak extract, and oak contains tannins that might not be resolved in the same way that they would be had the wine actually spent time in a barrel (which also releases oak tannins, but more gradually and at the same time as it provides exposure to oxygen).

This reminds me of discussions we had in college, where my friends and I always knew that if we got some cheap hard alcohol, we'd be more likely to pay for it the next morning. We always chalked it up to impurities, but I'm not sure that's right.

Thanks for the comment!
-Jason

[Mimi]

Hi to All,
Thanks for the information included in the original article: "Sulfites in Wine - What's causing my headache", and all of the comments that have followed. They have helped clarify for me the role sulfites play in the wine making process and have narrowed my very recent search for foods which contain sulfites - naturally occuring or other.

I have suffered from MIGRAINES for most of my life - the first at the age of 7, I am now 53. They have changed in nature, duration and frequency over the years, depending on my age (I won't bore you with the details). For the benefit of all, I AM MAKING A DISTINCTION BETWEEN 'HEADACHES' AND 'MIGRAINES' for a reason: The worst 'headache' is as far removed from the worst 'migraine' as the North Pole is removed from its counterpart in the South. If you don't know this, you have never experienced a migraine (no offense intended). Although, I know exactly what you all mean by the effect of histamines on headaches - I can't drink any alcohol beverage without my sinuses plugging up almost immediately.

When I entered menopause a few years back my migraines went into high gear, they have effected every aspect of my life and I am only now, through sheer perseverance and diligence figuring out what ALL of my major triggers are. In a nutshell:
Fluctuations in hormone levels; Changes in weather/Barometric pressure; SULFITES, NITRATES/NITRITES, MSG, and other food additives I'm sure. I've taken to reading every label, buy organic as much as possible and have cut out any and all foods I know to contain the above 'bug-a-boos'.

Unfortunately, many years ago I GAVE UP RED WINES AS A LOST CAUSE; ABOUT A YEAR AGO, I GAVE UP WHITE WINES This saddens me greatly! I especially enjoyed red wines and miss them terribly. If anyone has suggestions as to what wines I might try at some point in the future, let me know. Right now I'm just trying to get the migraines under control, but someday I would love to sit on my deck, enjoy the sunset and a lovely Cabernet Sauvignon!

Cheers,

Mimi

[K Taylor]

Much of what you've said is true but there are some serious inaccuracies. You're very knowledgable about wine but not so much about sulfite sensitivity.

I've recently learned I have a sensitivity to sulfites; I'm 31, I'm NOT athsmatic.

How did I find out? Well I drank a 1.5L bottle of cheap California wine. Next day I had rashes AND headache in the morning. Figured I had just drank too much wine, drank water, had a shower, blabla. Headache still going strong 5PM, rashes getting out of control. 8PM I was in the hospital. 1100PM i was in the ER trauma room, they injected me with epenephrine.

I actually had this happen once before after a stag party, same deal with the hospital, headache and rashes. Recently I'd been getting into drinking wine ( as opposed to beer ) and was having odd rashes appear mid day sometimes mild sometimes quite bad.

After seeing an allergist and working through the situations, turns out that it is sulfites and that I do have a sensitivity. However the sensitivities vary for different people, in total amount of sulfites consumed. Below a certain theshold (which is somewhat cumulative, I'm not sure how fast we break it down) there are zero ill effects. Above the threshold, the ill effects begin.

Every human has a tolerance for sulfites. For most people it is very high, for others it is quite low. Tests where a "normal" person takes 2g of sulfites and sees no ill effects are quite inaccurate as if they took 2g of sulfites EVERY DAY eventually they would use up their sulfite oxadise and they would exhibit symptoms as well.

Now I had many a time drank a quite a bit of moderate quality commercial wine and experienced no or virtually undetectable effects, whites and blushes I like my wine a bit sweeter for easy drinking. I'd eaten many of the products shown above (which is actually quite accurate) and saw very few ill effects if any in most circumstances.

Where the wine <> sulfite sensitivity issue comes into play, however is in the quantity. Some producers of wines use lower grade ingredients and "zap" their products with extremely high levels of sulfite in order to keep them on the shelves longer. These are usually cheaper wines of course but even more expensive wines can have a "mishap" with the application of the sulfite and end up with 10, 20 or even 100x the normal amount for their standard manufacture.

These producers are being totally irresponsible (heck, it sent me to the trauma ward in the ER for a night). By vastly depleting our sulfite oxadise levels, those of us who can not produce that enzyme very fast (which is actually a lot more than 0.2% of the population) will then be more prone to react to other sulfite containing compounds, to become more sensitive, and if triggered, to face stronger reactions.

Most alcoholic beverages contain some naturally occuring sulfites (as do eggs, for example) however the natural occuring sulfites tend to be around 1 microgram per 60 grams although this varies from food to food. These ultra-low levels of sulfite, if that is all that is consumed, do not trigger any reactions in most people, unless they suffer from a extremely low level of sulfite oxadise, either due to a genetic condition (which usually results in early death) or because their levels have already been depleted (sulfite sensitive people).

Where the wine industry needs to wake up is in exterminating attitudes like yours about sulfites. YES sulfites are naturally occuring, YES sulfites are harmless in small amounts, but YES sulfites are used as a "zapper" all too often in the commercial wine industry to increase profitability at the expense of heath of their customers, whether it be to extend shelf life of a very sweet wine, to get away working with tools which are less clean, or to make use of nearly expired juices or grapes for fermentation.

NO, this is not something that effects only a teeny tiny fraction of the population. It is noted that our overexposure to sulfites in daily life (read: not the wine industry's fault) may actually CAUSE asthma. There are charts which show SO2 emissions from industry on a simmilar track to overall asthma rates, with a corresponding drop when SO2 emissions were tightly regulated due to the acid rain scare of the late 1980s.

What is the most scary thing about sulfites for someone like me who is sensitive to sulfites, is the prevailing attitudes like yours in various food and beverage industry. Sulfites are being added to bottled water now (yes, they market it as pure water but they add sulfites to enhance the flavour and keep it on shelves longer in some brands). Sulfites are liberally dumped onto many types of seafood right at the factory ( to prevent spotting, keeping saleability high and increasing shelf live) and sold unlabelled in the seafood section of your grocery. Sulfites are being added to thousands of products every day to increase profitability.

This increase in overall sulphite consumption by the general public is not at all healthy nor safe. DDT was at one time considered safe, people would rub it on their arms. Once or twice in your life, being exposed to DDT probably IS safe. However the problem with DDT, much like (although different in scope) sulfites is that our total daily intake slowly depletes our sulfite oxadise and when that enzyme becomes low, people will experience adverse reactions.

The reactions can be quite mild: a slight difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, a skipped beat or quick heart palpitation thats gone in a second, a momentary dizzy spell that is gone in a fraction of a second, skin that's more sensitive and dry.

The reactions can also be quite serious: anaphylaxis (which can cause death), systemic hives (all over the body), splitting headache (a vascular problem triggered by H4 receptors in the brain), athsma attacks, bronchial fillibration (where the bronci twich), arterial fillibration (where the heart beats too fast to pump blood), and cardiac arhythmmia.

Anyway to summarize, my point is: dont downplay the problems with sulfites in general because you like your wine to be more stable on the shelf. If you're using as little sulfite as you can in your wine, you're on the right track; but you're certainly NOT 100% organic.

There are other ways to stabilize your wine without the use of sulfites. Super clean materials, bottles, and equipment for one, although this only goes so far if you have oxygen in the bottle. Filling your bottles so they are completely full and no air remains is another (although it can't be completely eliminated). I'm no expert on winemaking, but I know there are other more complex ways that completely organic growers use in addition to the more elementary ones I've listed without adding sulfites.

[Jason Haas]

Thanks for the comment, K.

I don't see that what you're saying, and what I'm saying, are really very different. I'm not trying to downplay that sulfite allergies are serious. In fact, I say clearly that sulfite exposure, for those who have sulfite allergies, is a serious, even life-threatening matter. It sounds like you are exactly the audience for whom a "CONTAINS SULFITES" warning is intended.

Nevertheless, I stand by my main point, which is that if people complain that young wines, and particularly red wines, give them a headache, and they otherwise eat normally, their problem is something other than sulfites. Red wines, for which tannins act as a preservative, generally contain less sulfites than whites. And tannins and histamines, both common in the skins of grapes, break down over time (unlike sulfites).

I'm sure you're right that some wines, particularly the sweeter wines that you like best, do have sulfite levels much higher than the 350ppm average across the industry. And, I'd be happy with some sort of regulation (like they have in Europe) where sulfites, up to a certain maximum PPM, are allowed in organic wines. Our sulfite levels are generally below the threshold that EU regulations allow for organic wines. But forcing American producers to use no sulfites in their winemaking if they want to be labeled organic has not had the impact of encouraging them to use other techniques to ensure stability over time. It has had the effect of marginalizing organic wines and discouraging organic viticulture.

And I think that's a shame.

Thanks for sharing your experiences; I hope that readers find them helpful.

-Jason

[Karyn Campin]

Hi, Jason,

I'm Chris's mom, we met at Torrey Pines a couple of years ago. I was listening to a local wine radio show today and heard Tommy O talking about the upcoming Paso Robles event this week in Kansas City. The interview as great. I hope the event goes well for you.

I still love your Esprit de Beaucastels and the photos on the website are wonderful.

Hope you and your family are well. I wish you the best!

[Partha]

I am from Sydney Australia, and have been suffering headaches and wheezing everytime I drink white or Red wines here. I dont wheeze if I eat dried fruit for example. So, I guess this may not be sulfite allergy as what the doctors are telling me. So, then what's my problem and why do I wheeze with wines and beer here, if its not sulfites?

[Jason Haas]

Hi Partha,

I'm not sure how to answer your question. Your symptoms sound to me like a sulfite allergy. Maybe try some no-sulfite-added wines to see if that still triggers the wheezing, or look on ingredient labels of boxed goods for sulfur dioxide so that you know which things you're consuming do have sulfites.

Sometimes, just the knowledge that something that you have had a sensitivity to is present is enough to trigger an allergic response like wheezing. I'm like that with cats; if I know one is there, I feel much more allergic, much sooner, than if I never realize one was around.

Thanks for the comment!
-Jason

[K Taylor]

Thanks for the response, Jason.

I wasnt meaning to point the finger of doom at you in my comment. Like I said if you are trying to use the least amount of sulfites possible you are already on what I'd consider to be the right track regarding sulfites.

Where I meant to correct you, and while a bit harshly that is because your beleif that 99.75% of the population has zero ill effect to sulfites in wine is shared widely in the food and beverage industry.

My main disagreement in this regard is because the effects of sulfite sensitivity are bioaccumulative (although not throughout the food chain as with DDT, but limited to the ingestion within one person).

If sulfites were only present in wine in small amounts, I dont think we would have ever seen people present with a dangerous sulfite sensitivity at hospital or ER.

Whee the problem results is that nearly everything is containing sulfites because "99.75% of the population can ingest sulfites with no adverse effect" is a beleif widely held in the food & beverage industry and this is a very irresponsible "groupthink".

The problem with sulfite sensitivity is sulfite oxidase levels. If you were to challenge an individual with 20 ug of sulfite compound who had never, ever before ingested sulfite in their lives, you'd find that the 99.75% rule touted by the industry rings true.

However with sulfites being added to a wide variety of common and popular foods (and with processed foods becoming more and more widely consumed), coupled with "bottomline" sulfite addition (such as with bottled water) to increase shelf life becoming more commonly used, the sulfite oxisase levels of the general population, particularly in North America are being very much depleted.

This is creating more asthmatics and more people who exhibit the more minor forms of sulfite sensitivity which are being misdiagnosed.

For example when I started getting into wine and away from beer (both of which contain sulfites, by the way) I started getting odd rashes - on my wrists, hands, fingers, belly, neck, and ears. The places would be different each time. My doctor diagnosed me with eczema and prescribed corisone steroids. Living with what I beleived to be eczema for almost two years I was applying cortisone steroids to my skin on a nearly regular basis. The problem was not just any sulfites, but rather the total quantity of sulfites ingested. Because different wines have different sulfite contents the rashes would or would not appear, and their severity would vary very widely. In the case of the Almaden blush wines, I ended up in the hospital twice. Charles Shaw gave me a tachardyia. These are inexpensive wines which are obviously very heavily sulphited. Ernst & Julio Gallo would give me an effect if I drank a lot of it but in moderate amounts (half to three quarters of a standard bottle) no effect at all.

What I've found to be the highest and most dangerous sulfite containing foods and beverages are these: Wine, pre cut potato products and shellfish. The latter two are very dangerous because they are not labelled at all. Wine is dangerous because while it is labelled the amounts from one wine to another vary widely, I'm guessing 2400 PPM for the Almaden down to 60 PPM for some high quality organics.

Further compounding the difficulty in diagnosis for doctors and patients alike is the bioaccumulative effect; drinking a glass of wine that contains a moderate amount of sulfites (200PPM+) may have no effect for someone who ate healthy the bulk of that week; however if one was travelling and consumed a lot of french fries or processed foods it may push over the threshold and trigger a serious reaction.

The 0.25% of the population who are hypersensitive to sulfites will experience a nasty reaction to something as diluted as caramel color (used in most colas) even though it is in the sub 5PPM range when measured as the entire cola drink. For these people, sulfite sensitivity is truly debilitating and causes splitting headaches; while I'm not sure I think this would be the H4 receptors in the brain are just immediately triggered to sulfite exposure.

Beyond that, everyone is sensitive to sulfites. A worthy example is that my fiancee works in an environmental lab; there was a girl there who was in charge of running sulfite level tests. She did the job to no ill effect for 6 months, then started getting systemic hives and nobody understood why. She never had had this reaction before. The reason: her normal sulfite oxidase levels became totally depleted after prolonged exposure sulfites. After transferring her to another area, the hives went away and she resumed her life as normal, albeit now much more aware of the effects of sulfites.

My fiancee herself who has exhibited zero reactions or allergies to normal levels of sulfites has also had mysterious bouts of systemic hives lasting a day or so then disappearing for years. This was before she worked at the lab, and now that we understand sulfite sensitivity much better we suspect that sulfites were likely the culprit, in a high sulfite containing wine that she drank the previous evening at a family gathering.

Anyways for your readers who experience a wheeze of breath when drinking red wine, the likely case is sulfites immediately after opening the bottle. Wines that have had sulfites added just before the corking can have a buildup of sulfite gas between the wine and the cork, this gas is known to cause wheezing in athsmatics and those who are undiagnosed asthmatics. Like you've said in your article, asthmatics are more sensitive to sulfites when it comes to their respitory tract and this wheeze is the signature of such. I was speaking to a "self bottling" wine makers facility and she told me that certain people have that immediate reaction when handling sulfites, she stops them immediately and does the sulfite handling herself for those customers.

Red Wine Headache or RWH is not necessarily linked to sulfites, although sulfite sensitivity is known to cause headaches. For those who want to self-challenge themselves to see if their headache is caused by classic RWH or due to a sulfite sensitivity they can merely try drinking an equivalent amount of cheap white wine. If the headache goes away its due to the enzyme in the red grape. If it surfaces with the white wine, then its likely sulfite sensitivity.

Anyways thanks for the space and time and pass the word on that sulfites not just in wine but in anything are bad news. Use the least amount possible and find ways to always reduce the amounts of sulfites in use in wine and other products. What one respomsible manufacturer does may save someone from ill effects because they consumed a product from an irresponsible manufacturer.

While I'm sure its far from a problem in the organic industry, sulfite additives as a substitute for sterile, clean wineries and proper inventory management practices is wholly irresponsible.